Asian share markets had a good start to the week today with green across the board, helped by the very positive sentiment on Wall Street on Friday, and a much stronger USD against domestic currencies. The ASX200 almost closed above 6000 points helped by a lower Aussie dollar in response to the Chinese GDP print
By Chris Becker A very strong finish to the week on Friday night with European stocks leading the charge and then US bourses pushing higher as reports suggested that China may offer a big take up in USD to offset its massive trade imbalance with the US and stave off any further tariffs in the trade
Asian shares finish the week with a flourish, with green results across the board as optimism grows over a potential positive outcome to the trade talks between the US and China. USD remains firm against the Asian major pairs with both the Aussie and Kiwi retreating while gold also fell a few dollars per ounce.
By Chris Becker European stocks were subdued overnight in immediate response to the late session slowdown here in Asia, while US markets got a bit more confidence towards the end of the session with speculation Trump is contemplating auto tariffs. Pound Sterling jumped as the UK government announced the next vote on the Brexit deal
The rally in Asian shares slowed this afternoon as comments from the Chinese commerce industry on the global slowdown took risk well off the table. The Australian dollar cracked to a new daily low while Yen rallied on the risk off mood, affecting domestic Japanese shares. The Shanghai Composite is down over 0.4% going into the close,
By Chris Becker With the Brexit Parliamentary vote now a distant memory, and the US government shutdown pressing on regardless – with no key economic data being released as well – markets are focused on other matters like earnings reports, which have buoyed US stocks overnight. Stability came back to Pound Sterling while the USD
The risk on mood from overnight markets has not translated into any substantial gains here in Asia with most stock markets retreating although local stocks blipped higher due to a rise in bank stocks. Currency markets are somewhat back to normal as well after the big moves in Pound Sterling overnight while gold retreated slightly.
By Chris Becker With the UK parliament Brexit vote dominating markets overnight – particularly currencies – sentiment picked up as US markets opened and OPEC made some gestures towards production cuts, helping oil prices as US tech stocks pushed higher. The USD lifted slightly against the majors, with Pound Sterling obviously having the most volatility, while
It’s damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead as risk markets go into tonight’s Brexit vote with a lot of confidence, as the return of Japanese markets helped buoy the risk complex across Asia today. Yen sold off helping Japanese stocks while the Aussie dollar advanced slightly and Pound Sterling remained high in advance of
Elizabeth Knight has a look today at impact investing and millennials: Whether or not you subscribe to the view that today’s youth are an entitled, smashed avocado-eating, device-obsessed group, it won’t be that long before they move from being just consumers to being investors. And this they will do very differently from their parents and grandparents.
By Chris Becker Wall Street finally stopped climbing last night, with the weaker than expected Chinese trade data and caution over the upcoming Brexit vote taking confidence off the table. Further slow news on European industrial production saw the Euro taper further, while US Treasuries remained solidly bid as gold and Yen as safe havens also
A relatively quiet start to the week here in Asia with Japanese markets closed and news dominated by the latest Chinese trade figures which surprised on the downside, pushing Yen higher against USD, the Aussie and Kiwi. Further volatility is expected mainly on FX and bond markets tonight with continued pressure on Theresa May as
By Chris Becker It was a rebound week for global equities last week following the significant correction throughout December and into the New Year as the fallout from the Chinese/American trade war and the looming Brexit levelled confidence and risk taking. Friday night saw the release of the latest US inflation figures, with the CPI
A relatiovely positive session across stock markets in Asia today to finish the week, with the ASX200 the only laggard as the Australian dollar breaks through the 72 cent barrier against USD. Chinese stocks are up slightly as the Yuan makes a near six month high against USD as the PBOC strengthens the local currency
The Australian dollar popped and dropped on today’s Black Friday retail illusion. But the path of least resistance remains up: Bonds are consolidating: XJO is flat: Dalian too: Big iron is soft: Big gas still rising: Big gold is struggling at breakout levels. Goldman upgraded it today. Sell! Big banks are soft too: Big realty
This time GAP: Shade cloths for housing. Rule number one of any profit warning is blame the weather. Of course it could never be this:
By Chris Becker After yesterday’s mixed session in Asia, equity markets tracked sideways for most of their respective sessions on both sides of the Atlantic overnight, with US stocks finally eking out a fifth in the row positive result. The USD rose against most of the majors, reversing its earlier week trend, although the Aussie
Mixed results across Asia today with Chinese stocks treading water, Japanese bourses retreating and the Australian market floating along even as the Aussie dollar keeps appreciating. The Shanghai Composite is down by only 1 point to 2564 points as confidence is wavering over a trade deal, still clinging above previous support at 2500 points. The Hang
The AUD is marching higher again today though it’s not lifted much from overnight: Aussie bonds are bid again as they sniff out the bunkering consumer: Stocks are flat: Big Iron is mixed. Presumably BHP is ex-div: Big Gas is tracking oil higher: Big Gold is still warm: Big Banks are still in the dead
By Chris Becker Trumps continued shutdown had no material impact on risk markets overnight with a fourth straight day of gains on Wall Street after the latest Fed minutes showed a relaxation of the continued interest rate hike agenda. This sent all the majors up against USD, which took the rug out from European equity
Trump’s address to the US in primetime had almost no impact on markets trading here in Asia, despite him not invoking the emergency use of powers to fund the wall (aka fence aka distraction device), thus setting up another stalemate with the polarised US Congress. Instead, markets are pivoting to any good news coming out of
By Chris Becker Treasury yields continued to climb for the third straight day, an indication that the Christmas bounceback in equity markets is under more solid ground, with modest returns on both Wall Street and in Europe overnight. Currency market volatility is subsiding as well although the Euro is being battered by the latest and
The AUD is well bid all morning: The bond bash is calming down: Stocks are flat: Big Iron is still charging: Big Gas not so: Big Gold has pulled back but given the near uniform push to sell DXY it has life short term: Big Banks are still enjoying the dead cat: And Big Property:
By Chris Becker As the US-China trade talks get underway, sentiment in risk markets remained buoyant overnight, with USD retreating and oil rising more than 2% as equities continued their Christmas bounceback. The US government shutdown maybe nearing its end but this news has already been priced in, while currency markets are returning to more
A strong start to the week here in Asia in reaction first to Friday’s US unemployment print but then Chinese stimulatory support and the lower volatility on currency markets. Risk proxies like the Aussie and Kiwi are up despite the fall in the USDJPY pair, while Chinese equity markets advanced but not as strong as others,
The AUD is still pointing risk higher: Aussie bonds have been hosed at the long end, representing a great entry opportunity: Stocks have a neat little inverse head and shoulder pattern: Dalian is soft: Big Iron is running as it mistakes restocking for a new round of Chinese stimulus: Big Gas is up too. I’m
By Chris Becker Risk markets have undergone a massive shift in sentiment on Friday night due to two major factors: the solid US jobs number followed by Fed Chairman Powell’s comments which were both reassuring and extremely supportive. The volatility swung the other way with US markets closing at least 3% higher across the major
Diverging fortunes here in Asia today as Chinese stock markets rallied while re-opened Japanese bourses slumped, catching up to the NY party. Currencies also diverged with a selloff in Yen followed by a gain in Aussie dollar as traders pre-position for tonight’s US unemployment print. The Shanghai Composite rallied hard from the open to be up 1.4%
By Chris Becker The volatility is ramping up as the Asian FX flash crash and the fallout from the Apple guidance cut was exarcebated by an unexpected drop in the US ISM manufacturing print. US stocks tumbled, with the NASDAQ losing a little over 3% with Treasury yields falling sharply as the yield curve braces
Wow what a day to be a FX trader! Bigly volatility on the Yen and crosses, with the Aussie dollar losing nearly 3 cents within a few minutes! Most currencies are nearly back to where they started, but this has had a big impact on equity markets with the catalyst being Apple’s late earnings revision
